Professional Windows 7 Development Guide

Chapter 8. Programming for Aero Glass Functionality

WHAT'S IN THIS CHAPTER?

• Defining Aero Glass design requirements

• Creating applications that use the Windows 7 common file dialogs

• Creating applications that use the Windows 7 task dialogs

• Developing applications that use extended linguistic services

The user is going to miss some important Windows 7 features without training because some of them are subtle and others are in places where the user won't naturally look. However, unless you specifically choose a theme that turns Aero Glass off, the user will notice it almost immediately, especially when you upgrade from Windows XP or older. For most users, the Aero Glass eye candy is going to be quite overwhelming at first — some may even declare that it's beautiful.

Of course, the Aero Glass functionality in Windows 7 is more than simple eye candy, as it tended to be in Vista. There's practical value in the Windows 7 version of Aero Glass. In fact, you've already seen some of this functionality in the examples shown in Chapter 5. Features such as Peek are part of the new Aero Glass functionality.

This chapter views some features that are uniquely tied to Aero Glass: common file dialogs, task dialogs (a sort of extended message box first developed for Vista), and extended linguistic services. Before you implement these features, you'll definitely want to ensure your application and users will support them, so the chapter begins with a planning session. Of course, you'll find the usual array ...